A report by Boston Consulting Group ‘Decoding Global Trends in Upskilling and Reskilling’, published on 5 November 2019, found that the number of Britons who spent a few weeks a year on learning was below the global average of those in training and work in 2019. The global average for the percentage of respondents who spend at least a few weeks on learning was 65%, with the UK standing at just 50%.
In written answers from 23 and 24 March 2020, Baroness Berridge outlined the Government’s response to the findings, and what the Government is looking to do to tackle the problem of upskilling and skills gaps in the UK.
Dr Richard Wilson OBE, CEO of TIGA, said:
“A workforce that is well educated and skilled and which engages in continuous learning and development should, other things being equal, be more productive. The BCG’s findings that the number of Britons who spent a few weeks a year on learning was below the global average of those in training and work in 2019 is accordingly disappointing.
“While the UK video games industry is a well-qualified, high-skilled sector employing people with excellent digital skills, the Government needs to promote continuous training and learning across the economy.
“TIGA welcomes Baroness Berridge’s indication that the Government are looking into ways to rectify the upskilling issue, including working on programmes such as the ‘National Retraining Scheme’ and ‘Get Help to Retrain’, and the extra £3 billion being injected into a National Skills Fund. TIGA also welcome apprenticeship reform and the further investment in T-Levels.
“The Government could also consider introducing additional measures to encourage upskilling and reskilling. For example, the Government could examine the case for a system of Individual Learning Accounts funded by government, employers and learners, with appropriate safeguards to ensure taxpayers’ money is well spent. Similarly, the Government could consider incentives to promote investment in training in small and medium-sized enterprises.”
Cindy Rampersaud, Pearson’s Senior Vice President for BTEC and Apprenticeships, said:
“Pearson welcomes TIGA’s call for continuous training and learning across the economy. This is supported by our 2018 independent Report from the Commission on Sustainable Learning which recommends a package of support be put in place for adults to stimulate a new approach to lifelong learning which includes individual learning accounts, and by the results of our 2019 Global Learner Survey which finds that the 40-year career is gone, replaced by life-long learning and diverse career paths.
“This talent economy is not a new concept in the creative industries and our latest suite of BTEC Nationals in Art and Design Practice and Creative Media Practice (2019) which are now available have been developed in partnership with employers in the creative industries and teachers and lecturers to prepare learners to progress into employment or further training. They develop the existing and the emerging cutting edge skills employers most need. These include graphic design, 3D animation and VFX, among others, which feed the UKs’ thriving film, games and wider arts industries. The qualifications allow time and scope to focus on career progression, developing a deeper understanding of industry roles, ways of working, and expectations and trends, and support learners to progress into the world of work within the creative sector.
“Pearson offers a range of vocational and technical qualifications. Our BTEC qualifications provide the knowledge and skills employers need across a broad range of industries to open new doors into rewarding careers in STEM, health, sport, business, IT, the creatives industries and much more to support individuals, businesses, and the economy, to thrive.”
The full written questions can be seen here:
Training
Department for Education
23 March 2020
Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to improve the statistic set out in the report by Boston Consulting Group Decoding Global Trends in Upskilling and Reskilling, published on 5 November 2019, that the number of Britons who spent a few weeks a year on learning were below the global average of those in training and work in 2019.
Baroness Berridge: The government recognises that there are a number of international examples, including in Singapore and India, which provide useful insights to inform the development of our adult skills reforms. We are also taking steps to improve productivity, employment levels and social inclusion. Programmes including Apprenticeships, funded or co-funded skills provision through the Adult Education Budget, access to Advanced Learner Loans and the National Retraining Scheme enable adults to gain the skills that they need to progress or reskill. The government has started testing the first part of the National Retraining Scheme, Get Help to Retrain, in 6 areas across England. Get Help to Retrain is a digital service that will help users to understand their current skills, explore alternative occupations and find and sign up to training. We will continue to test and further improve the service in 2020. The government is also providing an extra £3 billion to develop a National Skills Fund that helps adults to learn new skills and to prepare for the economy of the future.
Training
Department for Education
23 March 2020
Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the Skill India Mission to upskill people through public-private partnerships, and (2) the SkillsFuture initiative in Singapore to provide career-long learning opportunities; and whether they have considered adopting a similar model in the UK.
Baroness Berridge: The government recognises that there are a number of international examples, including in Singapore and India, which provide useful insights to inform the development of our adult skills reforms. We are also taking steps to improve productivity, employment levels and social inclusion. Programmes including Apprenticeships, funded or co-funded skills provision through the Adult Education Budget, access to Advanced Learner Loans and the National Retraining Scheme enable adults to gain the skills that they need to progress or reskill. The government has started testing the first part of the National Retraining Scheme, Get Help to Retrain, in 6 areas across England. Get Help to Retrain is a digital service that will help users to understand their current skills, explore alternative occupations and find and sign up to training. We will continue to test and further improve the service in 2020. The government is also providing an extra £3 billion to develop a National Skills Fund that helps adults to learn new skills and to prepare for the economy of the future.
Skilled Workers: Vacancies
Department for Education
24 March 2020
Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of job vacancies which remain unfilled because of skill shortages among potential applicants; and what steps they are taking to introduce training courses and apprenticeships to fill that gap.
Baroness Berridge: The Employer Skills Survey 2017 identified 1,007,000 vacancies, of which 226,000 were skill-shortage vacancies (SSVs) – representing 22% of all vacancies. This percentage has remained broadly stable over several waves of the survey – 23% in 2015. Employers were most likely to report SSVs for Skilled Trades (42% of all Skilled Trades vacancies were SSVs), Machine Operatives (31% of all these vacancies were SSVs) and Professionals (30% of all these vacancies were SSVs). These proportions are also in line with 2015 percentages. We are awaiting results of the 2019 survey.
We have put in place a range of measures to tackle skills gaps. We are making apprenticeships longer, better, with more off-the-job training and proper assessment at the end, with new standards across all levels being designed and driven by the industry so they can equip people with the skills they need. We will be investing up to £500 million a year in T levels, a high quality technical alternative to A levels, which will be more rigorous than current vocational courses and involve employers in their development to ensure the qualifications have real labour market value. We also investing up to £290 million of capital funding to establish 20 new Institutes of Technology, which will be the pinnacle of technical training offering higher technical education and training in key sectors such as digital, construction, advanced manufacturing and engineering. We have also invested £100 million into establishing a National Retaining Scheme, which will help prepare adults for future changes to the economy, including those brought about by automation, and help them retrain into better jobs. On top of this we are investing an extra £3 billion, over the course of this Parliament, for a new National Skills Fund to help people learn new skills and prepare for the economy of the future. The fund will help ensure that businesses can find and hire the workers they need and help people fulfil their potential.